Food for thought

So, that fast...
I managed 2 1/2 days then I had to break it. So I'm counting that as a success. Hmm...
Basically I woke up around four on the Monday morning feeling like I was going to die. I was drenched in sweat and as nauseous as it's possible to be without actually throwing up. After drinking some water and taking deep breaths I managed to get back to sleep only to wake up around seven freezing cold. I tried to drink some herbal tea and breakfast juice but every time I took a sip it tried to come right back up again.
I could hardly stand up and spent most of the day in bed shaking uncontrollably and trying not to vomit. I was roasting hot then ten minutes freezing cold. I pretty much felt like I had been struck down by some killer bug. Now I don't know if this was the detox kicking in or just the side effects of not eating but it felt like my body was saying "enough with the flipping juice, I want food!".
Let me tell you, I'm no wuss. If it wasn't for the fact that I had to go to work in the afternoon and I could barely get out of bed, I would have carried on. I don't like to leave things unfinished. (I do all the time, but I don't like it!) By three in the afternoon, having been unable to drink any juice or tea, my blood sugar levels were in the red and I needed something to get me trough the few hours I had to work. So I caved and ate a little bit of grated carrot and some yoghurt with strawberries.
After work I tried again with the juice, hoping it would work better. I made a juice that was really yummy (I'd had it before) with lots of good stuff. And I couldn't drink a drop of it. As soon as I took a sip I actually gagged. So I broke my fast and then spent the next two days doing it the way I'd planned.
So, not quite a success but not too bad. I'm not going to beat myself up about it.
The good news is that since doing it I've felt great! I've been eating much healthier and I seem to have lost my sweet tooth. Before I'd spend my evenings snacking on sweets, chocolate and crisps but I seem to have gotten out of that habit now. I did have some cake and ice cream at the weekend and was worried that might get me back into it but it really hasn't! I don't even think about it. I no longer have a biscuit or three with every cup of tea and since I only had unsweetened tea during the fast I'm now down from 4 teaspoons of sugar in my regular tea, to two! I'm trying to gradually cut that down too, to maybe one or even 1/2.
I don't even drink that much tea anymore, at least a couple of cups every day have been substituted for herbal stuff.
I feel much lighter and more energetic and generally just good. So, all in all, I'm glad I did it!

This has been a long and rambling post I know, but I also haven't posted in a while so I'm thinking that evens things out!

about:blank

Some time soon I'm going to tell you all about what a failure I am and how much I suck.
Right now, however, I'm too happy.
Me and my favourite Banana (Hanna) have just booked our Barcelona tickets for this summer, my brothers band are blazing a trail through the northern Swedish rock scene and I have a great book!

I'll leave you with that while I go watch Game of Thrones.

Short update

Posting from my phone as getting my laptop, that's on a chair next to my bed, seems to much like hard work right now. I'm starting to feel it now. Quite tired and cold and shivery. I'm sipping fennel tea to try and warm myself up a bit and might have a bit of vegetable stock in a bit. Just need to wait until the kitchen is safe first, when I went down to make tea they were eating lasagna that smelled oh so lovely. I felt it best to remove myself sharpish! Controlling my hunger has so far not been a problem as long as I'm not around other people eating. If I feel a bit peckish I take a couple of sips of juice and I'm fine. Vegetable juice is surprisingly filling!
I almost forgot to watch the repeat of Doctor Who tonight (missed it last night to go to my sis' and watch Sweden come third in the Eurovision!) but luckily I remembered at the last minute!
Tonight would have sucked otherwise!

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You can never be too organised.

Apparently I like to colour coordinate my juices with their containers...

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Juice - day one

So far so good.
Woke up early this morning, the bloody birds wouldn't shut up and the sun had found a crack in the curtain and was shining in my face, but, as everyone else was still sleeping, I didn't want to fire up the noisy juicer.
Thankfully I managed to get back to sleep for an hour or so.
For breakfast I had a  cup of wild fennel tea and juice made with 1 cup of mixed berries (strawberries and blueberries) and 1/2 cup of melon.
I went to the bank and then to the shop to stock up on more fruit and veg for juicing.
Being out and about was difficult, let me tell you! I had to walk past a Greggs, a Starbucks and a Pret A Porter and the smells of the pasties, pastries and coffee were so hard to resist! And once in Sainsbury's I had to walk very quickly past the chocolate and other snacks.
When I got back home (still on the wagon!) I made myself some "lunch" juice of 2 apples, 1/2 a cucumber, 1 stick of celery, a handful of spinach and a handful of mixed greens (kale, watercress and parsley) and 2 tsp spirulina powder. I can't say this juice is yummy but it's alright.
I also made some apple and carrot juice for a "snack" later.
I have to say, I'm regretting not buying a whole fruit juicer. Chopping everything up is quite time consuming and a bit of a hassle. The thing that bugs me the most is that for £10 more I could have bought one but I decided to pinch my pennies.
Oh well, you live and learn!

Update

Right now: kinda hungry.
These last two days have actually been fine.
Yesterday I had fruit salad, with pineapple, galia melon, orange and grapes for breakfast. Yummy in my tummy! For lunch I had a big plate full of raw vegetables: thin cut cabbage, grated carrot, yellow pepper, sugar snap peas and half an avocado. I sprinkled loads of spring onions over for a bit of extra flavour and drizzled a tsp of dressing made with olive oil, lemon, garlic and herbs de Provence over it.
In the afternoon I snacked on strawberries, yum!
Dinner was the most difficult meal as I was eating with G who was tucking into a delicious looking pizza. So munching a salad of little gem lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes and avocado was not so much fun. I persevered however and once I'd gotten into it I was fine. Throughout the day I kept having cups of wild fennel tea, which I'm actually becoming quite partial to!
Today's breakfast was pineapple, lunch was the same as yesterday and dinner was half an avocado, sugar snap peas and carrot sticks. I have to say, eating today has been a bit of a struggle. Not because I've craved other things, I just haven't been that hungry. I had to force myself to eat lunch and only ate about half of what I had brought with me. I didn't feel like dinner until around 7.30 with is very late for me, I'm usually starving by six!
I ate some grapes in the afternoon and an apple after dinner. And of course drank a few gallons of fennel tea.
I'm quite pleased I've found a herbal tea I actually like! I usually detest herbal teas and can only drink them with loads of sugar or honey.
I am feeling a bit peckish now, so I might go and munch a couple of strawberries before bed, but all in it's been ok. I haven't really had any cravings and I actually feel great.
Both yesterday and today I've felt really energised and sort of light! I doubt that juice fasting will become a regular part of my life, although hopefully I won't just do it this once, but just eating raw fruit and veg for a couple of days is definitely something I'm going to try to do again. Maybe once a month or so. We'll see.
Tomorrow the juicing begins.
I'm nervous and excited in equal measures!

Huh?

The last post on this blog was actually originally posted yesterday.
And then blogger broke. And apparently wiped everything posted yesterday.
Which I only just realised while reading other peoples' blogs.
So there I was, feeling bad all last night that I couldn't post an update. I had taken pictures of all my meals and everything! Which is actually moot as I can't find the cable thingy to upload them. (I swear, this room is like the Bermuda triangle. Things are constantly disappearing! Especially when I've just tidied up...)
When I realised the post about the fast had disappeared it seemed silly to do an update without the back story and I was just sitting here wondering if I could be bothered re-writing the whole thing when I the light bulb lit up: I posted from my phone! Could it be that the post was still there somewhere? Joy of joy, it was!
So I re-posted it.
You're welcome!

Later on, after I've had a chat with my friend and something to eat, I will indeed post an update. Most likely without pictures though, unless the lead finds itself.
Fingers crossed Blogger doesn't pack up again!

Here we go!

As I wrote on my Swedish blog a while back, me and a friend are embarking on a 3 day juice fast.
We were supposed to do it last week but circumstances meant we had to postpone it. So we're starting today!
The first two days we will eat just fruit and vegetables, preferably fresh, to prepare for the three days spent drinking only freshly prepared juices, herbal teas and a bit of vegetable stock. After that comes two days of breaking the fast in much the same way as we started.
So even though the fast is only three days the whole thing takes seven or so days.
So, today is the first day. I've just had a lovely fruit salad for breakfast and I've stocked up on fruit and veg that will be chopped, grated, juiced, blended and prepared into salads, dishes, smoothies and juices.
And joy of joy, there are british strawberries in the shops so quite a few of those will be eaten!
I am aiming to post at least once a day as a sort of diary of this challenge. I'll post what's on the menu, how it's going and maybe more in depth about fasts and stuff.
The journey starts now, so stay tuned!

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Happy as Larry

I have my darling Dave back. After he went slightly nuts monday evening I took him to the laptop doctors' where he's been most of the week. I tell you it's been traumatic. We've never really spent much time apart. Wherever I go, he comes too. I've been suffering terribly, especially in the evenings which we usually spend together. I was finally able to pick him up yesterday afternoon in between lunch with my sis and cinema with James. As I was very tired when I got home in the evening we didn't really get a chance to hang out so today has been mine and Dave's day together! And it has been glorious! He's all clean and shiny and the fan no longer makes that loud whining noise.

Oh, joy!

When I grow up...

I'm going to have one of these...

And I'm going to have every cake pan imaginable...

And pie-dishes...

 And every utensil I could possibly need...

And good electronic scales...

And a turntable...

And decorating things...

And I'll bake all the time and be that person who always has something

yummy to offer people when they come over.

And when I'm not baking, I'll be making jams and preserves!

And we mustn't forget a good juicer.

So I can make nice, healthy juices.

(All these pictures were found on google.)